Hate crimes against Asian Americans rose 150% last year, many of them targeting the elderly. In January, 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee was on his morning walk in San Francisco when an assailant ran up and shoved him to the pavement. Mr. Ratanapakdee, an immigrant from Thailand, died from his injuries.
Chinese Americans and even those who look Chinese are being blamed for COVID-19. The Governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan, who is married to a Korean American, recently reported that his wife, three daughters, and grandkids had experienced discrimination. Around the country, racial hate has escalated into violence.
The problem has gotten so bad that President Joe Biden issued a memorandum in January denouncing hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). During his first national address on March 11, the President went straight to the issue, saying there have been “vicious hate crimes against Asian Americans who’ve been attacked, harassed, blamed and scapegoated… It’s wrong, it’s un-American, and it must stop.” What a stark change in attitude from the previous administration.
For nearly 50 years, ACC Senior Services has worked hard to support our seniors’ health and welfare. But we did not foresee the day when we would have to protect them from racial violence.
George Floyd’s death taught us that all groups experiencing racial injustice must stand up for each other; otherwise, the plight of individual groups will be ignored. We quickly saw how a coalition of minorities became a majority demanding an end to institutional racism.
That said, I am heartened to see that more and more companies and organizations (including ACC Senior Services) are practicing “diversity, inclusion, and equity” in their operations and in how they relate to the world. In particular, “inclusion” addresses the need to work with, respect, and appreciate people who are not like ourselves. Perhaps this would have prevented Mr. Ratanapakdee’s death.
I believe that self-interest, the lack of cultural awareness, and the media are among the root causes of racism. If you agree that these are factors, then we still have a lot of work to do.
In the meantime, let’s remain vigilant in fighting all hate crimes. Report them to the police. In addition, you can report AAPI hate crimes to stopaapihate.org, which is run by Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), and the Asian American Studies Department of San Francisco State University. They track and respond to hate, violence, harassment, discrimination, and bullying against AAPI in the United States.
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